If you follow beauty trends on social media, you’d know that “strobing” is the buzzword these days. Strobing is pretty simple – just another fancy term for highlighting. It simply means focussing the light on the high points of the face i.e the cheekbones, the brow bone, the cupid’s bow and down the bridge of the nose. To achieve this, a light reflective product is used which could be in the form of a liquid, cream or powder and is applied along the aforementioned areas of the face. To create a healthy, dewy glow with an intense highlight, the products are built up in layers and blended well to achieve the desired look.

Strobing Tips, Techniques

Here are 2 ways you can achieve this –

Tip #1 – Liquid + Powder Technique

Use a liquid highlighter like the Chambor Light and Sheer Highlighter, MAC Strobe Cream or Revlon Photoready Skinlights for the first step. Using your fingers, blend the product along the high points of the face. Make sure the product is well blended on the skin. Next, use a powder highlighter and gently sweep it with a fan brush along your cheekbones. Depending on your skin tone, you can use a champagne, pale gold or soft bronze highlighter. I quite like the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks and the Revlon Colorstay Highlighting Palette. This method works best for people with normal to dry skin.

Tip #2 – Powder + Damp Sponge Technique

Use a damp sponge or Beauty Blender and use that to stipple a powder highlighter along the high points of the face. The damp sponge ensures that the product is evenly blended and you can do 2 layers to build up the intensity to get a strong highlight. This is the method I used in the image above and I used theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer to get this look! Since I have oily skin, I prefer powder highlighters to liquids and creams especially in the warmer seasons.

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter

What are your thoughts on this latest trend? Share your comments below!

I’ve been wanting to do a look with Orange lipstick paired with bronzed skin since I did THIS post on the Orange Lips trend in Lakme Fashion Week! I finally got round to doing it today and I used the Lakme Absolute Lip tint in shade Orange Tease which was part of the Pop Tints collection last year.

I paired it with bronzed coral cheeks and soft neutral eyes. I feel very summery wearing this look (and with the cheery yellow flowers in the room!). I think Orange is a great color for warm/olive toned complexions and it totally brightens up the face! What do you think of this look?

Spring Summer 2014 Makeup Trends by MAC are all about fresh, healthy, feminine makeup and letting the natural beauty shine through rather than creating a synthetic look. The 4 trends this season are Day Glow, CC Thru, Light FX, and New Eye Deal. This is what the MAC experts say –

MAC Spring Summer 2014 Trends

DAY Glow Cheeksare the new way to study skin and the ‘raw’ complexion finds a new narrative in a sporty lexicon. The complexion is summery, gorgeous and glowing with peach and pink cream blushes mixed with nuances of sculpting cream and soft highlights (rather a tan story). The skin is fresh, young and with a spa-like, dewy finish.

I’ve been sorely missing Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2014 (having been backstage for the last 3 seasons) but have found solace in the LFW Facebook Page which has images/videos from all the shows! Just going through the galleries, I was struck by a makeup trend that showed up over and over – orange lips!

If I could sum up this season’s makeup trends in 2 words, it’d be bronzer and tangerine! How I wish I could have been backstage to take close up pics and to see the actual products used but we’ll have to make do with these pics from the ramp (all images from LFW FB).

Last month I attended the MAC Autumn/Winter Trends Presentation where Mickey Contractor (MAC’s Director for Makeup Artistry, India) and Sonic Sarwate (MAC Senior Artist) demonstrated the Top 4 makeup trends for the season! The makeup looks this season are more mysterious compared to the minimalism that reigned last season. There is an edginess, a modern touch – where made ‘up’ is more made ‘down’ and textures have a ‘lived-in’ finish. A tougher feel to makeup is omnipresent for AW13.